Indiana HC Curt Cignetti wasted no time in finding a moral victory after Ohio State beat the Hoosiers in Bloomington
Ohio State escaped Week 7 with a win over Indiana despite losing its starting quarterback late. The Hoosiers’ head coach had a telling take on how the game played out after the game.
The Ohio State Buckeyes walk away from Week 7 of the college football season with a 19-15 win over the Indiana Hoosiers on the road. A lot of the chatter after the game is centered on Ohio State quarterback Julian Sayin, who exited in the fourth quarter and was wearing a sling after the game.
Sayin aside, the Buckeyes were lucky to escape Indiana with a win. Ohio State didn’t look like the better team for long stretches. Still, the Buckeyes found a way to close out one of the biggest games on their schedule, which is what good teams do.
Ohio State was outplayed across the board by Indiana and found a way to win
The numbers from this one don’t paint a pretty picture for the Buckeyes. Ohio State threw a pair of interceptions to the Hoosiers and was outgained 369 yards to 313. Indiana also won the battle in the trenches with four sacks compared to just one for the Buckeyes.
Most teams don’t win games when they lose the turnover battle, get outgained, and give up four sacks. Ohio State was beat in nearly every phase and still moved to 6-1 on the season.
Leaving Bloomington with a victory in a true heavyweight bout between two teams at the top of the country was the goal, and it was accomplished.
Curt Cignetti’s comment points to a moral victory for the Hoosiers
Following the game, Indiana coach Curt Cignetti made a comment that points to a potential moral victory for the Hoosiers.
“I told the kids it was a tough one, that I’m really proud of the effort,” Cignetti said. “We gave ourselves a chance to win and certainly had the opportunity to. The sun comes up tomorrow and [we’ll] get ready for Michigan.”
In my mind, that’s Cignetti hanging on to the final play of the game for the Indiana offense. Hoosiers quarterback Josh Hoover found receiver Nick Marsh for what could have been a game-winning touchdown. However, Marsh’s left foot came down out of bounds, and Ohio State got the ball back with a chance to run out the clock.
That’s what a coach is going to say after a game like this. Indiana was right there until the very end, and it was a hard-fought game from start to finish. Ohio State can hang its hat on something similar, though. The Buckeyes played about as poorly as they could in several areas and still walked away with the win.
Buckeyes head into the bye week with plenty to clean up
Cignetti’s comment comes off as him saying Indiana lost the game rather than Ohio State won it, without actually saying it. I don’t think that’s totally the truth.
Ohio State didn’t play its best brand of football. On top of that, the Buckeyes were without their starting quarterback when the game was on the line. If Ohio State had played up to its standard, it likely wins this game by multiple scores. Indiana deserves credit for making it a game, but the Buckeyes left a lot of points on the field with the turnovers and the struggles up front.
Now, Ohio State heads into the bye week with a lot to go over. The pass protection needs to get healthy after giving up four sacks, they need Austin Siereveld back. Protecting the football better will be a point of emphasis going forward too. Additionally, the status of Sayin will hang over the program until there’s an official update on his injury, if one comes about.
The schedule doesn’t get any easier coming out of the off week. The Buckeyes have big games against USC and Oregon waiting for them on the other side. The extra time to get healthy and clean up the mistakes from Indiana could not have come at a better point in the season.
